OWENS: REF WAS WRONG:
EDINBURGH ................. 25 SCARLETS .................... 27
GLENN Delaney saluted his Scarlets side after they hung on to secure a crucial victory against Edinburgh. The Scarlets survived an extraordinary final passage of play to claim a win that all but secures their place in next season’s Champions Cup..
Clinging on to a two-point lead, the visitors showed outstanding defensive discipline in the face of sustained Edinburgh pressure during a last play which went on for more than four minutes.
Right at the end, Scotland wing Darcy Graham escaped down the touchline, threatening to set up the winning score.
But the Scarlets scrambled back, turned over possession and got the ball off the park to signal scenes of jubilation.
“Our intent to play and create was there and I felt we did enough during the game to have scored a fourth try,” said Delaney.
“But you have to have that desire on both sides of the ball and that defensive effort in the closing minutes was huge.
“The boys showed how much playing for the shirt means to them.
“I told them after the game, as coaches we can’t coach that, that is down to you, it is down to character and I couldn’t have been prouder of this group.”
At this stage, it’s unclear whether the top three or four in each PRO14 conference will automatically qualify for Europe’s elite competition.
That’s because it’s not been confirmed whether the Champions Cup will stay at 24 teams – with eight PRO14 sides on board – or go back to 20.
But, either way, the Scarlets now look secure.
They lie in third spot in Conference B, eight points clear of fourth-placed Cardiff Blues, with both sides having just two regular season fixtures left to play.
Edinburgh have two games in hand, but they are now 14 points behind the Scarlets following Saturday’s compelling contest.
It was a match which swung back are forth and contained some seriously crazy passages of play, not least the final one.
Both sides looked to keep the ball alive and play, leading to a hugely entertaining encounter and some outstanding tries.
Edinburgh led 20-17 at halftime, through touchdowns from Marcus Bradbury and Graham against wonderfully created scores for Tyler Morgan and Johnny McNicholl.
Then, soon after the break, scrum-half Dane Blacker popped up in support of Steff Evans’ double hack ahead to give the Scarlets a lead they were to hold on to until the bitter end, despite Dave Cherry’s maul score which brought them to within two points.
EDINBURGH: Tries: Bradbury, Graham, Cherry. Cons: Van der Walt (2). Pens: Van der Walt (2). SCARLETS: Tries: T. Morgan, McNicholl, Blacker. Cons: D. Jones (3). Pens: D. Jones (2).